«Stories in Resonance»

Among the 13 films screened in the International Feature Film Competition, three Swiss productions will celebrate their world premieres. In her compassionate feature-length documentary DENTRO, Elsa Amiel focuses on a theatre production by Armando Punzo, who works with inmates at a prison in Tuscany.

In her new documentary film HEAT, Jacqueline Zünd draws on the dystopian imaginary worlds of science fiction to highlight the contrasts of Kuwait City – a fully air-conditioned city in the hottest region on Earth.

In SAUDADES, filmmaker Emma Boccanfuso portrays the unwavering matriarch Suely, who lives in a favela in the hills of Rio. Set in the form of a chamber drama, the film explores a place that is seemingly cut off from the rest of the world and yet subjected to extreme violence.

BURNING LIGHTS and short films

One Swiss production is among the 15 films celebrating their world premieres in the Burning LightsCompetition, which is dedicated to contemporary narrative forms: in the French-Swiss coproduction LA VOIX DU TROUPEAU, Matthias Joulaud and Lucien Roux (RAMBOY, VdR 2022) follow the life of a deaf-mute cattle farmer from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. In their first feature-length film, the two directors succeed in rendering the experience of hearing loss poignantly palpable.

Two Swiss productions will celebrate their world premieres in the International Medium Length & Short Film Competition: UNE CHAMBRE À ELLES by Lucia Martinez Garcia and THE RIGHT TO FORGET by Lisa Mazenauer. Swiss producer Franziska Sonder (Ensemble Film) is a member of the international jury for this competition.

The Opening Scenes section is dedicated to the best emerging talent and presents 15 debut films from around the world made within an academic context. These include Charlyne Genoud’s short film PROCHAIN ARRÊT: FONTENAY, produced at ECAL, and Iryna Melnichenko’s short animated documentary RÉMINISCENCE, produced at HEAD – Geneva.

National Competition

The National Competition reflects the quality of Swiss filmmaking with a selection of 13 films. This section showcases the excellence of Switzerland’s documentary filmmaking by providing a platform not only for established filmmakers but also for six debut films.

Among the filmmakers making a comeback are Maria Iorio and Raphaël Cuomo, who have previously received a Special Jury Prize in Nyon, are screening their film WAS DAS WASSER ERZÄHLT this year. Stéphane Goël returns with EN TERRAIN NEUTRE, a highly political yet deeply personal feature-length film exploring the concept of Swiss neutrality, which he has realised in collaboration with investigative journalist Mehdi Atmani. In his new film THE ROOTS OF MADNESS, Edgar Hagen follows longtime Middle East journalist Ulrich Tilgner, who returns to the region as a melancholic witness to a place that continues to be devastated with the active support of Western powers.

At the interface between chamber drama and conceptual film, Sophie Schrago’s film WHAT COMES FROM SITTING IN SILENCE portrays a tribunal in India where victims of domestic violence can seek justice. DER RUNDE TISCH by Benjamin Bucher and Juliette Menthonnex was also shot at a single location. The film analyses how politics works by capturing the debates sparked in a village when the opening of centre for asylum seekers is announced.

Director Laura Cazador has compiled her film TRICONTINENTALE, LETTRE À OUVRIR AU CAS OÙ from archive footage by the internationalist filmmaker Michèle Firk, who was involved with the Guatemalan guerillas from 1967 onwards.

Several films screened in the National Competition take a more intimate approach: for example, COMMON GROUND, Jonathan Jäggi’s feature-length debut, which follows Lilo as she traces her father’s footsteps to Zurich’s Allmend, a common public space on the edge of the city where he spent his final years in solitude. In his essay film ALMA, Rafael Palacio Illingworth uses fictional elements to explore the experience of losing a loved one.

In the multi-layered NICOLE NICOLE, director Lauren Dällenbach humorously explores the codependent relationship between her aunt Nicole and her grandmother. With FIRST LAP CRASH, Liam Erlach has developed a concept to reflect on sibling love whilst simultaneously addressing the challenges faced by his sister, who is trapped in her own body due to a chronic illness.

In her first feature-length film SAFE SPACES, Sarah Horst explores the intimate lives of three women as they reflect on their relationship with sexuality and free themselves from the normative constraints of patriarchal cultures. In ETERNAL SNOW, François Kohler immerses us in the daily lives of two brothers living at the foot of the Himalayas who are confronted with global warming. Elisa Gomez Alvarez’s debut film TO THE MOON AND BACK follows Ilyasse and Pauline, two science prodigies who dream of flying to the moon.

In the new Borderlight section, Tobias Nölle presents TRISTAN FOREVER, which premiered at the Berlinale. Also screening in this section is the Italian-Swiss coproduction IL QUIETO VIVERE by Gianlucca Matarrese, which celebrated its world premiere last year in the Giornate degli Autori in Venice.

Presented in the Special Screenings section will be Peter Mettler’s monumental work WHILE THE GREEN GRASS GROWS, two parts of which were awarded the festival’s Grand Jury Prize in 2023, and THE OLIGARCH AND THE ART DEALER by Andreas Dalsgaard.

SWISS FILMS Previews and other pitching sessions

In collaboration with Visions du Réel, SWISS FILMS is hosting its annual Previews at the VdR Industry Days (April 19-22), during which producers of six Swiss documentaries with international potential will present six new projects to international sales agents, distributors and festival delegates. 

At the “VdR Pitching”, the international coproduction and financing forum, renowned Swiss filmmaker Jean-Stéphane Bron will present his latest project A SEASON IN EUROPE (production: Lionel Baier, Bande à part Films), in which he provides insight into the workings of European institutions.

As part of the “Prix RTS de soutien à la création documentaire” pitching competition, eight documentary films from French-speaking Switzerland currently in development will be presented:

• WARRIORS' WHISPER by Elena Avdija
• THE MISSING PIECE by Camille Budin
• CHASING THE SUN by Yelena Ganshof van der Meersch & Tom Keller
• YOU'RE WELCOME by Noémie Schmidt & Joris Avodo
• LORIS by Gaël Métroz
• AMORE E MENTALITÀ by Karim Sayad
• SHE EATS by Céline Pernet
• THE INVISIBLE MOUNTAIN by Ludmila Claude

And in the Migros Culture Percentage Story Lab Pitching, five Swiss filmmakers will present their new projects:

• FLIGHT 7014 TO ALGIERS by Yamina Zoutat
• AMADA LIBERTAD by Celina Escher
• SPIRITS WE DIDN'T ASK FOR by Jonathan Jäggi & Tobias Kubli
• 22'000 SCREAMS FROM THE MINE by Noa Epars
• BEYOND DAD'S MOUSTACHE by Raphael Harari